BACON
family,
iron-masters and colliery proprietors
.
Though the
Dowlais Iron Co.
had been formed in
1759
and
JohnGuest
of
Broseley
had been engaged as its
manager
early in
1760
, it was
ANTHONY
BACON
(
1718
-
1786
) who was the real originator of the pre-eminence of
Merthyr Tydfil
as the iron-smelting centre of
Great Britain
, and who converted it from a hamlet into a flourishing manufacturing town. Very little is known of his parentage and up-bringing, apart from the tradition that he was descended from
NicholasBacon
, the elder brother of
SirFrancisBacon
,
baron Verulam
.

By an indenture dated
29 Aug. 1765
,
AnthonyBacon
, then of
London
, and
WilliamBrownrigg
, of
Whitehaven
,
Cumberland
, leased virgin mineral land, amounting to about 4,000 acres, stretching from
Cyfarthfa
for about eight miles down the
Merthyr
or
Taff valley
— a district which contained some of the best seams of coal in
South Wales
, with rich beds of iron-ore, all in close proximity to limestone and with an abundant supply of water for power. The land was obtained upon very cheap terms, viz. £100 p.a., with no royalties to pay, for ninety-nine years. Arrangements were made with neighbouring
farmers
to secure their surface leases in order to erect the necessary buildings and furnaces, houses for the workmen, railroads, watercourses, the opening of drifts, levels, the sinking of pits, etc. These further leases were obtained at an annual rental of about £150 to £200, again without any royalties or wayleaves to be paid. A road was soon made down the
Taff valley
to join the old Roman road through
Gelli-gaer
and
Caerphilly
to the small port of
Cardiff
. A blast furnace was soon erected at
Cyfarthfa
and a feeder constructed to carry water to it. As the furnace was erected on or near the place at which the lower seams of the
South Wales
coalfield came to the surface, and as several
iron-masters
were already producing pig-iron from coke instead of charcoal, it seems probable that the furnace erected used coke from the very first. Later on, a forge was erected for making bar-iron, with foundries, etc. Though the difficulties which the partners had to surmount were enormous, the moment seemed opportune. There was then an increasing demand for iron, which could not be met by home production, necessitating large imports from
Russia
and
Sweden
at high prices.

After twelve years the partnership between them was dissolved (
22 July 1777
).
Bacon
soon extended his enterprises by acquiring the lease of land granted to
Messrs. Guest and Wilkinson
. He also leased some land direct from the
earl of Plymouth
; on this he erected a blast furnace in addition to that at
Cyfarthfa
. Three years later (
1 July 1780
) he acquired the lease of the
Hirwaun iron-works
, with liberty to raise iron-ore or coal from the common of
Hirwaun Wrgan
.

In
1775
the
War of American Independence
broke out; this necessitated a great increase in the production of iron for cannon-balls and other implements of warfare, etc.
Bacon
soon secured a contract for the supply of guns and cannon, and erected foundries for casing and a boring mill. He was, however, prevented from directly manufacturing guns and cannon, because an Act, passed in
1782
, disqualified
members of Parliament
from holding
Government
contracts. But
Bacon
stuck to his seat in the
House of Commons
— he had succeeded
JohnWilkes
as member for
Aylesbury
in
1764
— and immediately entered into negotiations with
FrancisHomfray
of
Stourton
,
Staffordshire
, which resulted in a lease (
27 Sept. 1782
) by which
Bacon
granted to
Homfray
a ‘mill for boring cannon at
Cyfarthfa
, as also the lower works, called the Foundry, with a pool of water and other premises, for a term of fifty years at £20 per annum.’ He was also to supply
Homfray
with the necessary metal made at his blast furnaces at
Cyfarthfa
,
Plymouth
, and
Hirwaun
. After some two years
Homfray
complained that he was not receiving sufficient metal and tapped
Bacon
's furnace at
Cyfarthfa
. A quarrel ensued, and, in
Oct. 1784
,
Homfray
assigned his lease to
DavidTanner
of
Monmouth
, and soon afterwards established his three sons in a new iron-works at
Pen-y-darren
.

Before
Tanner
had transferred his lease (in or about
March, 1786
) to
RichardCrawshay
of
London
, later the celebrated
iron-master
,
AnthonyBacon
had d. at
Cyfarthfa
(
21 Jan. 1786
) at the age of 67. He had left ‘the extensive Works of
Cyfarthfa
,
Plymouth
and
Hirwaun
, all in full operation, guided by his single will,’ together with an estate called ‘
Banklands
’ in the parish of
Workington
; he also held, in partnership, a vast estate in the province of
Virginia
, in the
American Colonies
. He was considered to be one of the wealthiest men in
Britain
at that time.

Bacon
had m.
ElizabethRichardson
, but their only son had d. in
1770
, aged 12. He had, however, five natural children by
MaryBushby
, of
Gloucestershire
, all of them minors in
1786
—
Anthony
,
Thomas
,
Robert
(
Smith
)
,
William
(
Smith
)
,
Elizabeth
. Their mother was provided with a sum of £1,000, together with a sum of £50 annually to maintain each of the four younger children, while in her care, until they were taken away by the executors for their education.
RichardCrawshay
, who later became the owner of the
Cyfarthfa works
, was a witness to the will, but was not one of the executors.

Bacon
's son,
ANTHONY
BACON
II
, when of age, was to receive the
Cyfarthfa estate
;
THOMAS
was to receive the
Plymouth furnace
, etc. The
Hirwaun furnace and collieries
became the joint property of
Anthony
II
and
Thomas
, while
ROBERT
, it seems, had the mines, etc., at
Workington
.
ELIZABETH
was to receive a clear annuity of £300 when she became 21.
WILLIAM
, then a baby, was to receive the remainder of the trust funds, provided the sum did not amount to more than £10,000, when he came of age.

The sons, as soon as they were married or of age, appealed to the
Court of Chancery
for their possessions.
RichardCrawshay
took over the
Cyfarthfa works
from
AnthonyBacon
II
, paying him for the mineral lease a fixed rental of £5,000, plus a royalty of 15s. per ton on coal and iron raised over and above the quantity on which the fixed rental was based. The
Plymouth works
were likewise disposed of by
ThomasBacon
to
RichardHill
.

In
Oct. 1799
the brothers
Bacon
took over the interest of
Mr.Glover
in the
Hirwaun works
. But it is evident that they had neither the desire nor the ability to become great
iron-masters
like their father.
Anthony
sold his share in the
Hirwaun works
to
Thomas
for £3,000, and, by deed dated
27 and 28 Jan. 1806
, bought the
Mathews estate
at
Aberaman
, and retired there. In
Feb. 1814
he sold his entire mineral rights at
Cyfarthfa
to
RichardCrawshay
for £95,000. He d. at
Aberaman
,
11 Aug. 1827
, and was buried at
Speen, Berks.